


Nightmare or Memory?

by Doctor_Discord



Series: The Ego Manor [100]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Derek was a Dick, Ed is a Good Dad, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eric Deserves Better, Flashbacks, Nightmares, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Starvation, implied PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-06 21:22:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20298136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doctor_Discord/pseuds/Doctor_Discord
Summary: Eric has a nightmare of something Derek did to him a long time ago, and Ed comforts him in the aftermath.





	1. Chapter 1

_Eric was ten years old, washing dishes at the kitchen sink. He’s always been a bit small for his age, he needed a step to reach the sink, but that didn’t stop him. Not that he had a choice. He tried to convince his dad to make one of his older and therefore taller siblings do the chores, but _no_, he was the youngest, _he _had to do them, it was _his _job._

_He glanced over his shoulder when he heard someone walk in. He noticeably flinched – though he tried to hide it – when he spotted his dad slipping into a chair at the table, a box of whatever he was selling now before him. He wasn’t looking at him, but Eric knew that if he made even the smallest mistake, his dad would be on him in a _second_. He didn’t want to make his dad angry. He was scary when he was mad. Eric wanted to be good._

_Eric swallowed, reaching for the next item to be washed. It was a plate, prettily adorned with roses around the edges. It was one of his mom’s favorite dishes, she only brought it out for special occasions. The reason it had been used recently was because yesterday was one of his sibling’s birthday. Unfortunately, with his dad’s eyes burning a hole into his back causing his hands to tremble, the plate slipped from his grasp as he reached for the dish soap, shattering into pieces against the hard kitchen tile._

_Eric froze, going completely stiff with the sound of the shattering china echoing almost painfully loud in his mind. He didn’t dare turn around. His breathing grew shallower and more rapid with every silent second that ticked by. At last, his father spoke, tone sharp and threatening, just barely hiding rage. “Son.”_

_Hearing his father’s voice, it activated some buried instinct in Eric, and he leapt off his step and raced toward the hall, toward his room. The adrenaline pumping through his small body made him deaf to everything but his own pulse roaring in his ear. He was almost to safety when a hand suddenly gripped his arm, forcing him to jerk to a halt and sending a stabbing pain jolting through his shoulder._

_Eric screamed and cried as his father began to drag him backwards, clawing at his hand and desperately trying to break free but to no avail. “Dad! Please, let go of me, i-i-it was an acci –”_

_“_Shut up!_” His father’s grip only tightened, but Eric ignored him, crying louder. He _begged _for his mom, for one of his siblings to help him, but he knew _they _all knew better; if they helped, they would get the same – or worse – punishment as Eric._

_His father turned is head, scowling down at Eric. He shook him forcefully, the movement unbalancing Eric and sending him crashing to the floor. His father’s steps didn’t even pause, _literally _dragging Eric along now by his borderline painful grip on his wrist._

_“You were a _mistake_,” his father spat, ignoring Eric’s pained cries as he dragged him down the stairs, heading to the basement. “The runt of the litter. I _never _should’ve agreed to let your mother keep you, we had too many kids already, but she was stubborn! And I gave in. A _mistake_.”_

_They reached the bottom of the stairs. Eric had at last stopped screaming, his head having bounced off several of the steps and the floor when they reached the bottom. Silent tears still flowed heavily down his face as he clawed weakly at his father’s hand. He sobbed brokenly as he was pulled toward the far corner of the basement, toward the object covered in a black sheet. “No…Dad _please_, it was an accident! I’m sorry! Please don’t –”_

_He cut himself off, whimpering and feet scrabbling at the ground as he tried to pull away. His father whipped off the sheet, his grip tightening on Eric’s wrist. He seemed determined to try and break his wrist as he fiddled with the padlock on the metal dog cage. His father didn’t even spare him a glance as he tossed him into the cage like an old rag doll._

_Eric’s head impacted _hard _with the metal bars that made up all six sides of the cage, and by the time the world had stopped spinning and he’d scrambled to the door, his father was already clicking the padlock back into place. He stuck his fingers through the holes of the mesh patterning, desperately pulling at the cage door. Tears continued to fall freely down his face. “Dad – _Daddy! _Please don’t leave me here! I’m sorry!”_

_His father simply picked up the sheet again, draping it back over the cage and drowning Eric in darkness. “I’ll come and get you when _I’m _ready.” And the sound of receding footsteps reached Eric’s ears, and he was alone._

_Eric was left there, in the suffocating blackness and freezing cold, for two days, curled into a tight ball in the far corner. His whole body ached and hurt, bruised from the inescapable, cold, metal mesh. Each time his stomach grumbled, always louder than before, he just whimpered and held himself tighter. His mouth felt painfully dry. His body shivered violently at a near constant rate. He could hear his family above him, running about and laughing and enjoying themselves. And the only thought that ran through Eric’s head was the fear that they’d forgotten him. That he’d been abandoned._

_When his father finally did pull off the sheet once more, the dim lights of the basement nearly blinding to the poor boy, Eric practically launched himself into his warm arms as soon as the door was opened, shaking like a leaf and mumbling repeated apologies into his chest. His dad simply held him, stroking his hair and planting a quick kiss to Eric’s forehead. “I know, son. I hope you learned your lesson.”_


	2. Chapter 2

Eric woke with a strangled scream, quickly cut off by his own gross, gasping sob. Flailing in the bedsheets, he tumbled onto the floor, not even attempting to get back up as he simply sobbed, curling into a fetal position. At least, until he realized how _cold _his hardwood was, and his nightmare – _memory _– was flashing to the forefront of his mind and he was ten years old again and crying brokenly on the floor of that cage and –

Eric was off like a shot, throwing open his bedroom door and tearing down the hall. Not wanting to wake more people than he had to, he sprinted past King’s door – where Bim was undoubtedly sleeping as well – and kept going, tears splashing onto the floor in his wake.

He skidded to a halt, pounding desperately on Ed’s door and just barely choking back his sobs, his other hand clamped tightly over his mouth. Ed was a pretty light sleeper, he should –

As if on cue, a bleary-eyes, half-asleep Ed Edgar opened the door, yawning hugely. “Eric? What the _Hell_, kid, you’re –” Eric didn’t give him time to finish his sentence, practically going boneless and collapsing limp into his arms, fisting his shirt tightly in his hands as he sobbed.

Ed’s arms instinctively flew up to hold him, stumbling back a bit in surprise. He didn’t say another word, pulling Eric further inside his room and closing the door quietly behind him. He half-carried, half-dragged Eric to his bed, sitting him down and taking his own spot beside him, keeping one arm wrapped around Eric’s shoulders. “…So kid, do you wanna tell me why you nearly woke the whole house up by bangin’ on my door?”

Eric trembled, shifting closer to Ed’s warmth, the memory of the freezing cage still very much fresh in his head. “N…n-nightmare. About…something my dad did when I was a kid.”

Ed arched an eyebrow. “Do you want to tell me specifics or leave it at that? I won’t push if you don’t want to.”

Eric started to shake his head, but then simply bowed it, fiddling with his hands. “Um…I am – er, _was_ –” He choked out another sob, and Ed held him closer. “– the-the youngest in my family. And…by my dad’s rules, it was _my _job to do all of the chores, at least, all of the ones that involved cleaning.”

He could feel Ed tense beside him, but he kept going, refusing to even glance at the other, in fear of what his expression might be. “I-I-I was washing dishes, and my dad came in the room, and…h-he scared me. Just being there, _silent_, it…_terrified _me. So I accidentally dropped a plate, and it broke.”

He hunched over, rubbing at his eyes as the tears kept coming. “My dad was _furious_. I-I-I tried to run, b-but he grabbed me, he called me _awful _things…” He tensed. “…He admitted I was a _mistake_, and he dragged me to the basement, and he…he threw me in one of those metal dog cages. He bought it _specifically _for that purpose. And…he left me there for two days.”

Ed let out a horrified gasp, and Eric broke, covering his mouth with a hand again while the other tore at his hair, his words coming out mumbled and slurred through his sobs. “It _hurt _and it was _cold_ and it was _dark_ a-a-and I was hungry and I just kept _thinking _‘what if he just _left _me there _forever?!_’ And it…wasn’t the first time he’d put me in that thing. It wasn’t the last time, either. And it just got _worse _as I got older because _I _got bigger and the cage _didn’t_ and it was _suffocating _and _cramped_ and…and…”

Eric spun around, bearing his face in Ed’s chest once more and gripping him tightly, loud sobs wracking his body. Ed held him close, pressing a quick kiss to the top of his head. “It’s okay, Eric. He can’t hurt you anymore. And as terrifyin’ as that must’ve been…it’s long in the past. We will _never _do that to you. You’re _safe _here, Eric.”

“I know.” Eric sniffed. “I _know _that.” He tensed, hesitating, before tightening his grip on Ed. “C-can I sleep here, w-w-with you again? Please?”

Ed squeezed him briefly. “Of course you can. C’mon, kid.”

He scooted back on the bed, pulling the covers back and allowing the both of them to slip beneath them. He held Eric close, one arm slung over his chest and pulling him back against his own. Eric made a small noise, shifting closer to Ed with his face still buried in his shirt. “…Thank you.”

Ed sighed through his nose, pressing another kiss to the top of Eric’s head as his hand came up to gently pet the back of it. “You don’t have to thank me, Eric. Now go to sleep. You need it. I promise you won’t have any more nightmares.”

Eric managed a tiny smile – barely there at all – and closed his eyes, drifting off into a deep, dreamless slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooooo boy, this was a ah..._thing_. Don't ask me why I did this because _I don't know_. I love Eric, I swear I do. Anyway, more angst Wednesday, a Wing AU one, with the robobois! See you then!


End file.
